king fisher

You did the right thing. The other thing that you could have done is tie some sort of marker like an empty gallon jug to it. Something people would see and avoid.

You should have asked them why they don't just use Forward facing Sonar.

I set the drags on all of my big game rods before every trip with a scale. My bass rods I don't use a scale, I simply pull the line off with my hand and adjust the drag when it feels right. If a person does use a scale, the reason you want to set the drag around 1/3 of the line break strength is because a fish does not pull slow and steady. Have someone hold a rod in the same position you would fight a fish. Then attach a scale to the end of the line. slowly walk off and measure the weight of the drag on the scale. Lets say it pulls off at 5 pounds. Now slowly walk away with the scale and start jerking quickly on the line imitating the fight of a fish. That same drag setting may read as much as 10 pounds at peak times depending on the quality of the drag. Add to that a nick or week knot in the line and you can see why setting the drag at anything more than 50% of line strength is only asking for trouble. If you are using heavy braid than your drag may still be to tight even at 1/3 of the line breaking strength. Most rods made for bass fishing can break at 10 pounds of pull if the angle is extreme. If you don't believe me take your favorite rod and try to lift a 10 pound weight off of the ground with it. Even if your line and rod do not break, anything over 10 pounds of drag, will equate to over 15 pounds of drag with a sudden pull, and 15 pounds of drag is what I set drags for when trolling for Marlin. Fifteen pounds of actual measured drag is an incredible amount of drag. Cranking drags down all the way works for many anglers, and if it works for you don't change, but do consider that a reel with a drag at 15 pounds of drag, can bend hooks, break rods, and pull hooks from the mouths of bass if you don't play the bass correctly. Luckily for us bass anglers, bass don't usually make long runs, so simply by moving your rod and body back and forth a person can usually give enough play in the line to keep from breaking something, but this skill takes time to acquire, and a well set drag is nice to have incase a bass does go on a strong run that is to long to compensate for by moving your rod and body.

My first set up was a steel telescoping rod, with a fly reel. The rod was not a fly rod, and the reel had mono line on it, so while all the other kids were bombing casts with their Zebco's I was looking for a place I could drop my worm in the water and didn't need to cast. I fished off of bridges, docks and cliffs for my first years fishing. The steel rod was heavy and sensitivity wasn't even worth thinking about. The reel would have been great for fly fishing but for casting a worm and bobber it was next to impossible. When I was twelve my dad bought me a spinning reel the day before I went on a big camping trip with the boy scouts. My life as a fisherman changed on that camping trip. I was finally able to cast. I still used the steel rod for a few more years, and it wasn't the best, but as long as I had a spinning reel I could fish. Although I love and appreciate the improvements in rods I have owned, I have to say any reel I own now is the most important improvement over what I started fishing with. I will say that first reel I owned, I would gladly use with a modern fly rod, but wouldn't want to have to cast one of the fly rods made at the time with even the best modern reel.

I got up this morning, looking forward to a relaxing day off of work. My wife fixed me a cup of tea, and I logged on to Bass Resource. First thing I see is this tackle porn picture from A-Jay. There goes my peaceful morning. The Bait Monkey started nocking on my door, the dogs started barking, and now I have my wife chasing the monkey around the house screaming he is not buying any more fishing rods, and if he wants colored rod covers, they better be free including shipping. The monkey just jumped out a window, so peace and quite should be restored. I like the full cork handles, are they new rods?

There are many, but I narrowed the choices down to three. The first is my favorite place to fish when I was a kid Rock Lake WA. in 1975. I would like to go back in time and fish the lake, but if I could go back and fish there with my two best friends, that would be special, a dream come true. The second is the Togiak River Alaska. From 1995 to 2018 it was my favorite place to fish. Best king salmon fishing on the planet for many years. If I could go back I would want to fish for Kings on July 10 1998. The third is Presa Pocho Nayarite Mexico in June 2020. and I would remember to bring a scale.

I have lost and witnessed thousands of fish of all species lost from broken lines, pulled hooks, bent hooks, broken rods, and tearing the hook out of a lightly skinned hook fish. All of these fish might have been landed if the drag was not to tight. I have also lost and witnessedonly a handful of fish lost due to the drag set to light. The odds of loosing a fish by horsing them is way higher than the odds of loosing a fish by being to gentle. That said, there are times when bass fishing that you have to clamp down on a bass in order to pull it away from or out of cover. This can be done on a bait caster by applying pressure on the spool with your thumb. Once you have the bass away from cover you can let the drag do it's work. I have landed very large fish on tiny hooks, with ridiculously light line by having patience and the drag set light. I'm sure this can be accomplished with bass as well, it's only the culture of horsing them to the top and skipping back the boat that keeps people from landing many bass. How many times does an angler have a snag that wont come loose so they pull hard to break the line and the hook pulls out. The hook is not bent it simply pulled out of the snag. The same thing happens with a bass. Pull to hard and something is going to give. I have lost giant bass because I let them get in to cover. That is on me, but I haven't lost giant bass because I horsed them. Every fight is different. Sometimes you have to move forward and punch hard, sometimes you have to play defense and wear them out. Experience is the best teacher.

I have been on and off of the floro wagon, more times than a rock star is in and out of rehab. I am currently using Sniper, but like InviseX as well. My problem is professional over runs. It isn't the lines fault. I am constantly trying to get that last foot out of every cast. Throwing hard, and standing on the edge of the cliff with one foot over is a bad habit of mine. If any floro gets a kink in it while picking out a backlash bad luck is sure to follow.

Does she catch bass on spinnerbaits?

The fishing gods can throw all the lightning bolts they want. I Think a Zillion on an Expride would be worth dodging some lightning.

No picture no scale, I would average the two weights, then add a pound, or two. Bigger is always better so why not give it a little fisherman's stretch.

Highly technical Bait Monkey term. Works for crankbaits too.

My first 4 months in Alaska, was spent caretaking a homestead, a guide used for a hunting camp. The camp was 60 miles from the nearest town on the Alaska Peninsula. He was guiding in another part of the state and wanted someone to watch out after the cabin he had recently built. I was 25 years old, and looking for an adventure, I thought it sounded like a great way to spend the summer and fall. After talking with the guide over the phone for a few minuets I drove 150 miles and met him in Wasilla that evening. The next morning he flew me in his plane 300 miles landed on a small dirt runway and dropped me off at the cabin. It was the first week of July 1988. He told me there were fish in all the streams and lakes but to watch out for bears because they were everywhere. He said do not go anywhere without a rifle he gave me, but to not shoot any bears unless I absolutely had to. He said they will false charge often, but will usually stop at about 5 yards away. If they don't stop make your first shot count. He then got in his plane said he would be back in October, and left. I spent the summer exploring and fishing streams that had never been fished. They were all full of spawning salmon, along with char, Dolly Varden, and grayling eating the eggs of the salmon. The streams required long difficult walks that took anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to get to, but were well worth the effort. The fishing was amazing, and I have many fond memories of that summer. I did get sick from drinking the water, but after a couple of weeks my body got used to it, and I wasn't bothered by the water anymore. Some of the places I fished have not seen a line since that summer. The owner of the property takes fishing clients there, but none are willing to make the strenuous walks to get to the true virgin water. I don't blame them, there is plenty of great fishing close to where you can land a plane. On the 31st. of October I heard a plane, and the outfitter came and flew me back to civilization. He was happy to see I had survived, and was glad to hear I hadn't had any problems with bears. I ended up spending that winter trapping in the same valley, and worked for the outfitter for over 20 years. I learned to fly bought my own Piper cub and flew over the area often. Every time a flew over one the small streams I walked to that summer I would first cringe at how much work it would take to fish there, but would always tell myself that someday I would take the time and make the effort to fish there again. I still tell myself I need to go back and fish a couple of those streams. The guides children now own and operate the guiding service. I still keep in touch with them, and they are always asking me to come visit, and go fishing one more time. They still refer to many of the places by the names I gave them, and tell their clients stories of my summer of exploration. I now live in Mexico and still explore new places to fish with my kayak. Most of the places I bass fish take some effort to get to, and have few if any other anglers, but none are as remote as those unfished waters in Alaska. Unfortunately my joints and back have failed me, and I will never be able to get into the kind of physical condition I would need to walk for hours in the marshy tundra so I wont be going back to any of those magical places, but I will always have the memories of casting a line in places that no other angler has ever been.

I would like to see them go to the Northwest. Columbia River, Snake River, Dworshak resevoir, Coeur dalene lake. Lots of options.

I have tried the PR knot. It can be tied without a tool, many videos showing how. It is easier to learn, and faster to tie than the FG, strength is and size are the same as the FG. I don't use the FG or the PR knot when bass fishing. I use them often for leaders when fishing in salt water. The Alberto is my go to knot for braid to leader on my bass fishing gear. It is a little bigger and not as strong as an FG, or PR but works fine for me. Uni to Uni is what I used for years, and is a strong easy to tie knot, but I like the smaller size of the Alberto. The Albright is a great knot, but the Alberto is so similar, just as fast to tie and in my opinion is better, so I don't bother with the Albright anymore. For braid to braid I use uni to uni, and for connecting mono to mono leaders I use either surgeons or blood knots depending on the size of line.

Your wife not wanting you to go fishing may be a good thing. If the mail man has a big smile on his face when he brings you a new rod and reel that your wife bought you and your wife instantly recommends you go fishing for the weekend to try out your new fishing gear, you may have a problem.

I have tried it all, from swearing to prayer, and everything in-between. Nothing has worked for me. The bigger they are and the higher they jump, the more long distance releases I have.

While requiring competitors to pass a safety course can't hurt on the water safety, I'm not sure it would help. Experience on the water operating a boat they are accustomed to, at speeds they are accustom too, on familiar waters with an emphasis on safety is what makes a boater more safe. I have a Coast Guard 100 ton masters license for inland, as well as near coastal waters, and have passed many classes and tests. I consider myself a competent safe captain on vessels I have experience operating, with navigational equipment, and at speeds I am accustomed too. I have never driven a bass boat with a 250 horse engine, or any other boat at speeds over 35 miles an hour, nor have I operated a boat on any of the lakes that elite series anglers are competing on. Although I have a license that qualifies me to operate a vessel for hire on any of these lakes, I do not feel I am qualified to drive a bass boat at any where near full speed on any of these waters. I would need time on the water with a competent operator before I would feel I could operate a boat safely. My point is, a class, or license does not make a person a safe and qualified boater. Only experience and common sense will do that, and I have to assume all the anglers that qualify for the elite series already have enough of both to safely operate a boat at elite tournaments. I would even go as far as to say most of the elite anglers would have enough experience to teach any boater safety class that BASS would require them to take.

Orvis knot.Not the strongest but uses very little line.

The old reliable bait and switch. Monkey approved. Next time go in to buy tackle, maybe all you will leave with is a chicken sandwich.

I would go swimming. 40 degree water temp is very cold, but nothing compared to the freezing reception I would get from my wife when she found out I threw a $400 fishing lure into the lake.

I’m sure I would find a way to loose one in my bathtub.

I was worried about not sticking as well. I watched a few videos where they used JB Weld, and one where they showed how it held up after a year. I don't trust what I see on video's, but was interested enough to give it a try on the bow. It performed beyond my expectations. The JB Weld sticks well to the plastic on my kayak, is hard enough to sand if I want to make it smooth. I have made welds in the past with pieces of plastic buckets, and it works well, but I will try JB Weld in the future if I need to patch a hole or crack. I did watch a video where a guy tested several different epoxies on plastic and measured their strength. Surprisingly the original JB Weld was the strongest, and the JB Weld made for plastic did not perform nearly as well as the original.

I used a table knife to spread it, an old credit card to smooth it out, and taped it off with blue masking tape. I wanted to use sheets of a material called Gator guard, but It was going to be difficult to get here. The JB Weld was cheaper, and is very durable. It took some time time to apple but I am happy with the results.